The
Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifsby Robert Beer
Tibetan Buddhism has one of the most complex iconographies of any religion.
Robert Beer, the artist who brought to life the saints of Tibetan Buddhism
in Buddhist Masters of Enchantment, has now brought the myriad symbols
of Tibetan Buddhist art to life. Not exactly arranged like an encyclopedia,
this book is more like a tour of the categories of Tibetan Buddhist symbols,
beginning with Landscape Elements (rocks, clouds, rainbows, etc.); moving
on to such areas as Flowers and Trees, Cosmology, and Mudras (hand gestures);
and ending with Geometric Borders. Exquisitely detailed line drawings (using
fine-pointed traditional brushes) are grouped on full-size plates, each
of which the author tells us took between 50 and 200 hours to draw. The
eight years that went into this book are revealed not only in the drawings
but also in the text that is equally detailed in its descriptions of the
religious significance of the symbols as well as their sources and development
in Tibetan art. Beer's encyclopedic knowledge has not come from book learning,
but from 30 years of doing Tibetan art and learning firsthand from Tibetan
masters. After glimpsing just of few of these plates, you'll be calling
Beer a master too. --Brian Bruya
Hardcover - 400 pages (November )Shambhala Pubns; ISBN: 157062416X